Gay lawmaker, Mark Ferrandino, to have major role in 2012 policy, politics

If Colorado politics weren’t gay enough, it got a little more, err, fabulous Nov. 18, when Rep. Mark Ferrandino officially became the House Democrats’ leader – putting him in a unique position to influence policy and the 2012 election.

While Ferrandino has played an active role at the General Assembly since he was appointed by a vacancy committee in 2007 and yielded an exuberant amount of power on the Joint Budget Committee, he has now been elevated to a new threshold few know.

Ferrandino joins millionaire and progressive politics financier Tim Gill and Democratic party chairman Rick Palacio as one of a few Coloradans – let alone gay Coloradans – who will be in the eye of the storm come November 2012.

“Mark Ferrandino has already been a major player in mapping out a way for Democrats to take back the majority in the House,” said one Democratic insider who spoke to Out Front Colorado on the condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak publicly about the Democrats’ plans. “And as the minority leader he will be at the center of retaking the majority.”

In fact, the day after Ferrandino was appointed by his caucus, he took to the Facebook to announce the Ferrandino Leadership Fund to help elect Democrats.

Democrats lost their majority in the state House by one seat in the 2010 elections. The party had taken the majority in both the House and Senate in 2004 followed by the governor’s mansion in 2006.

Unlike most state and federal legislative bodies that saw a sea of Tea Party red in 2010, Colorado stayed mostly blue. Democrats maintained a wide lead in the Senate and retained the governor’s office with the election of John Hickenlooper.

Democrats are confident now more than ever of their prospects of taking back the House, the campaign insider said.
“We won’t fail,” he said. “State House Democrats have been working very hard to build a strong base and infrastructure. We’re in an extremely strong position.”

But before Ferrandino can hit the campaign trail, he’ll have to square off against Republican Speaker of the House Frank McNulty and majority leader Amy Stephens in the 2012 session on issues like the state’s budget and Ferrandino’s signature legislation: civil unions.

As minority leader, Ferrandino will be in charge of appointing his colleagues to committees, help run the floor debates and rally votes for bills.

“I suspect Mark’s knowledge of the budget and his work on the budget committee will come into play and that will change the dynamic,”

McNulty told reporters after congratulating the new minority leader.

Ferrandino told his peers he’s ready to rumble.

“Together Democrats and Republicans can accomplish a great deal for this state, but I will not shy away from fights when regular people are being trampled on,” he said prior to being elected. “I’ve already heard rumors that no Democratic bill is going to get out of committee this year, and I hope that is not the case. If it is, it would only validate people’s worst assumptions about the pettiness of partisan politics.”

McNulty dismissed the rumors.

“All bills will get a fair hearing and as these issues come up, we’ll take them up, one by one. I won’t speculate on the outcome of any bill because that’s the job of the legislative process,” McNulty told Out Front Colorado.

Proponents of the civil union legislation, including Ferrandino, said it was McNulty and Stephens who instructed the House Judiciary Committee to kill the 2011 civil union bill because they and other Republicans have been threatened with primary challenges from the Tea

Party who want an even more social conservative legislature.

McNulty said he did no such thing.

“I love Capitol gossip, it’s always a lot of fun,” McNulty said. “… I did not have any conversations with anyone about the committee.”
To depoliticize the issue of same-sex relationship recognition, Ferrandino might drop his name as the principle sponsor if proponents can convince a member of the Republican caucus to carry the legislation in the House during the 2012 session.

Gay Denver Democrat Sen. Pat Steadman will introduce the bill in the Senate first where passage is all but guaranteed, Ferrandino said.

The legislation sailed through the chamber earlier in 2011 with bipartisan support.

Independent political analyst Eric Sondermann said finding someone from the Republican party to “carry the sword,” is a wise decision.

“Rep. Ferrandino’s new leadership position doesn’t turn any votes,” Sondermann said. “The key is always to get someone from the other party to sponsor your legislation.”

And while Sondermann said Ferrandino isn’t the best sponsor to carry the civil union act, his new leadership position could prove useful.
“If there’s horse trading to be done, as a leader, he has more chips to trade with,” Sondermann said.

While Ferrandino’s leadership role will “substantially elevate the profile of the issue,” Sondermann said, he doubts win or lose the issue will not impact the 2012 election for the Democrats.

“Largely, the key to the Democrats success is not macro-campaigns, but district by district campaigns,” he said. “They look at the micro-issues.”